White-nose syndrome
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Temperature-mediated habitat selectionMoose populations are significantly declining due to parasite infection and warming temperatures. Moose are adapted to extremely cold environments, and therefore face over-heating during winter. Immuno-comprised moose also faced with the additional stress of winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) infestations during these critical time periods. Our overall goal is to determine the importance of forest management on moose health in regards to habitat selection. This project is in collaboration with the USUS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, the Bozeman Disease Ecology Lab at Montana State University, and the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish.
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Supplemental feeding and disease transmissionCurrently, Austin Peay State University has a feral cat colony that is supplemented by feeding stations. As APSU is located in an urban environment, there is the potential for disease spread from feral cats, supplemented by feeding on campus, to local outdoor domestic cats. Our main goal is to determine if supplemental feeding of feral cat colonies increases disease transmission by inflating cat densities, increasing contact rates, and providing a mechanism for spillover into domestic cats and humans. This is a collaborative project with Drs. Mollie Cashner and Stefan Woltmann in the ASPU Department of Biology
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